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Legal news in January 2018 in Vietnam

1. Provisions on limits for issuing covered warrants

On  18  January  2018,  the  State  Securities  Commission  issued  Decision No.72/QD-UBCK,  promulgating  the  Rules/Guidelines  for  offering  and hedging with covered warrants.

Accordingly,  the  regulation  sets  maximum  limits  for  warrants,  which  have been issued or registered to be issued, excluding those that have been canceled or have expired, according to the available capital of each issuer. In particular:

(a)       0% for issuers with a liquid capital ratio of 180% to 250%;

(b)      5% for issuers with a liquid capital ratio of 250% to 300%;

(c)       10% for an issuer with a liquid capital ratio of 300% to 450%;

(d)      15%  of  the  Issuing  Institution  has  a  liquid  capital  ratio  of  450%  to 600%;

(e)       20% to the issuing organization with a liquid capital ratio of more than 600%.

The liquid capital ratio to be used for determination of limits is the continuous minimum of 6 latest months prior to the date of filing registration dossier for offering warrants.

This Decision takes effect from the date of signing.

2. Conditions for application of temporary safeguard measures

This  is  one  of  the  important  contents  in  the  Decree  No.  10/2018/ND-CP dated 15 January 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Foreign

Trade Administration with respect to trade remedies. Specifically, a temporary safeguard measure is applied where:

(a)  There is an increase in excessive importation of imported goods under investigation.

(b)   Domestic  industry  is  severely  damaged  or  threatened  with  serious damages.

(c)   Excessive import increase is the cause of serious damage or threat of serious damage to domestic production.

(d)  Delayed application of safeguard measures causes serious damage or threats  to  cause  serious  damage  to  the  domestic  production  and  it  is difficult to recover from such damages.

Temporary  safeguard  measures  only  apply  in  the  form  of  additional  import tarriffs  and  the  Minister  of  Industry  and  Trade  may  decide  to  suspend  the application of this measure before it becomes effective, when necessary.

This Decree takes effect from the date of its signing.

3. Extension of business licensing to foreign investors

This is new content in Decree No. 09/2018/ND-CP dated 15 January 2018, detailing  the  provisions  of  Commercial  Law  and  Law  on  Foreign  Trade Administration regarding the activities of purchase and sale of goods by the foreign investors.

Accordingly,  a  foreign  investor,  whose  country  has  participated  in  the international treaties, to which Vietnam is a party, and under which Vietnam has committed to open its market for activities of purchase and sale of goods, shall  be  granted  with  Trading  licenses  upon  satisfaction  of  the  following conditions: No overdue tax debt if established in Vietnam for 1 year or more; Developing a financial plan to carry out activities for which a Trading license is applied, etc.

With regard to foreign investors whose country or territory has not participated in  any  international  treaty  to  which  Vietnam  is  a  party,  in  addition  to  the above-mentioned conditions, they will also have to meet the following criteria: appropriate for the competitiveness level of domestic enterprises operating in the  same  field;  ability  of  creating  jobs  for  domestic  workers;  Level  of contribution to the State budget.

In  respect  of  trading  in  goods  of  the  categories  for  which  Vietnam  has  not committed to open its market such as rice, sugar, video-recorded items, books, newspapers and magazines, economic organizations with foreign investment capital,  which  have  already  operated  retail  establishments  in  the  form  of supermarkets,  mini-supermarkets  and  convenient  stores,  shall  be  considered for licensing the right to retail distribution.

This  Decree  shall  take  effect  on  15  January  2018  and  shall  replace  Decree No.23/2007/ND-CP dated 12 February 2007.

4. Removal of a series of business conditions

On 15 January 2018, the Government issued Decree No. 08/2018/ND-CP, on removing  and  reducing  a  series  of  conditions  for  trading  in  the  field: petroleum    industry,    tobacco,    electricity,    franchising,    e-commerce, chemicals, industrial-explosive materials, and foods. For example:

(a)  Removal   of   many   conditions   for   tobacco   trading   activities,  in particular:

  • To be granted with licenses for purchase  and sale of tobacco  materials  or  licenses  for  processing  tobacco  materials,  an  enterprise  is  no  longer  required  to  register  business  in  or processing tobacco raw materials, respectively; but only meets the condition that it has been established in compliance with the laws.
  • Simultaneously, it is not compulsory for enterprises purchasing and selling tobacco materials to have fixed places of business and clear  addresses, and  to satisfy  other  conditions  regarding premises,  facilities,  and  human  resources  as  stipulated  in  the previous regulations. Enterprises processing tobacco materials are not required to have the area of processing premises of at least  5,000m2;  a  separate  warehouse  for  storing  tobacco materials   which   must   be   appropriate   for   business   scale; Inspection equipments for measuring material quality; Contract with   employees   having   professional   qualifications,   and mechanical and technological expertise of junior college degree and above.
  • Removal of some conditions to grant license for wholesale of tobacco products,   including:   requirements   on   warehouse; commitment to ensure the full compliance with regulations on fire prevention and fighting, environment protection, etc.
  • It is  remarkable  that,  in  the  principles  of  tobacco  business control, this Decree has abolished the provisions under which the  State  strictly  controls  the  purchases  and  sales  of  tobacco products  through the Planning  for  purchase  and  sale network system of tobacco products emphasized in the previous Decree No. 67/2013/ND-CP.

(b) Removal of some conditions for petroleum production and business;

  • Firstly, this Decree has abolished the provisions under which a trader doing  the  business  of  oils  and  gasoline  export-import must  have  an  Enterprise  Registration  Certificate  in  which petroleum busines is registered as its business line; removal of the provisions on the planning for Development of petroleum business  system;  Conditions  for  production  of  gasoline  and diesel fuel. Simultaneously, newly-invested retail stores of oils and   gasoline    as   well   as   oils   and   gasoline   business establishments  are  no  longer  required  to  have  locations  in compliance  with  the  planning  approved  by  the  competent authorities;    the    existing    oils    and    gasoline    business establishments  with  locations  in  non-compliance  with  the approved planning must implement the roadmap of upgrade or relocation to ensure the planning.
  • Besides, Decree No. 08/2018/ND-CP removes some conditions applicable to  a  trader  importing  and/or  exporting  oils  and gasoline. In particular:
  • After 3  years  as  from  the  date  of  being  granted  with Trading license for oils and gasoline import-export, it is required  to  own  or  co-own  the  capital  contribution portion of at least 51% for the warehousing system, and to  have  capacity  to  satisfy  at  least  1/3  of  its  reserve needs.
  • After 2  years  as  from  the  date  of  being  granted  with Trading license for oils and gasoline import-export, it is required  to  own  or  co-own  the  capital  contribution portion of at least 51% for means of domestic oils and gasoline transportation with a total load capacity of at least 3,000 m3.
  • Every year, since the date of being granted with Trading license for oils and gasoline import-export, it is required to own or co-own at least 4 oils and gasoline retail stores until its distribution system has at least 100 petroleum retail stores.

(c) In the field of franchising, this Decree stipulates that business entities shall  be  granted  with  commercial  rights  if  their  business  systems intended for franchise has been in operation for at least 1 year. Thus, the  previous  conditions  such  as:  already  registered  the  activity  of franchising  with  the  competent  authorities;  Goods  and/or  services subject  to  commercial  rights  are  not  prohibited  from  business; Conditions for franchisee in the activity of franchising; etc. have been cancelled.

(d) Regarding    e-commerce,    this    Decree    provides    that    traders, organizations and individuals already granted with personal tax code are not required to have websites with valid domain names to set up e-commerce  websites  and  websites  providing  e-commerce  services; neither  are  business  traders  and  organizations  required  to  have appropriate   functions   and   tasks   as   prescribed   in   the   previous regulations.

Decree No. 08/2018/ND-CP shall take effect on 15 January 2018.

5. Import of one (01) used automobile needs 7 types of papers for quality inspection

On   10   January   2018,   the   Ministry   of   Transport   issued   Circular No.03/2018/TT-BGTVT, providing for the quality control of technical safety and   environmental   protection   of   imported   cars   subject   to   Decree No.116/2017/ND-CP dated 17 October 2017.

Accordingly,  the  new  Circular  prescribes  7  types  of  papers  that  need  to  be included  in  the  dossiers  submitted  by  import  enterprises  to  register  for inspection of one used imported automobile as follows:

Registration sheet for inspection of technical safety and environmental protection in accordance with the standard form in Appendix I;

(b) A copy of the valid circulation registration certificate, which is valid until  exportation  and  issued  by  a  competent  foreign  authority,  or  equivalent paper;

(c) A copy of commercial invoice;

(d) A copy of the VIN decoding explanation by the vehicle manufacturer (for the 1st certification of type);

(e) The original of the vehicle information sheet in the standard form of Appendix III;

(f) A  copy  of  the  vehicle’s  features  and  technical  specifications  by manufacturer;

(g) A copy of import declaration form for paper documents; the date (day/ month/year) of the declaration for electronic dossiers.

This Circular takes effect on 1 March 2018.

6. Logistics enterprises must compensate up to VND500 million to the customers

On 30 December 2017, the Government issued Decree No. 163/2017/ND-CP, providing for the business of logistics services, which will replace Decree No. 140/2007/ND-CP issued and applied for the past 10 years.

One of the most remarkable content of this Decree is the provisions on logistics enterprises’  compensation  liability  to  their  customers.  Particularly,  if  the relevant law set out any limit of the liability of logistics enterprises, it shall be applied. In the case where such limit is not available, the logistics enterprises’ compensation liability to their customers shall be agreed upon by the parties.

In the case where there is no agreement between the logistics enterprises and their  customers:  If  the  customers  have  not  given  any  prior  notice  of  goods  value, the maximum liability shall be VND500 million for each compensation  claim;  If  the  customers  have  given a  prior  notice,  then the  compensation  liability shall not exceed the value of the concerned goods.

Also, according to this Decree:

  • Foreign investors  shall  be  allowed  to  purchase  shares  of  and  capital contribution  portions  in  enterprises  in  proportion  as  business  of logistics services is related to transport (the current law only permit the establishment of a joint venture company).
  • In addition,  a  foreign  investor  whose  country  or  territory  is  a  WTO member  may  provide  logistics  services  only  when  the  condition  on capital contribution ratio and the following conditions are satisfied:
  • For sea  transport  services  (except  for  in-land  transport):  the total number of foreign crewmen working on the ship shall not exceed  1/3  of  the  ship’s  staf;  Captain  or  first  deputy  captain must be a Vietnamese citizen.
  • For cargo   transport   services   classified   as   road   transport services,  100%  drivers  of  the  enterprise  must  be  Vietnamese citizens.

Especially,  traders who conduct  a  part  or  the  whole  of  logistic activities by electronic  means  connected  to  the  Internet,  cellular  network  or  other  open networks must comply with regulations on e-commerce.

This Decree shall take effect on 20 February 2018 in replacement for Decree No. 140/2007/ND-CP dated 6 September 2007.

7. New regulations on prescriptions for medicines

 On   29   December   2017,   the   Ministry   of   Health   issued   Circular No.52/2017/TT-BYT,   providing   for   prescription   of   pharmaceutical   – chemical   medicine   and   biology   products   for   outpatient   treatment (hereinafter referred to as “medicine prescription”) (“Circular 52”).

Accordingly, the new Circular stipulates that a medicine prescription is valid for purchase within 5 days as from its date.

For a 72-month-old child, it is required to write in medicine description his/her months ofage, full name and identity card number or personal identification number  of  his/her  parent  or  legal  guardian.  The  medicine  prescription’s contents  must fully,  clearly  and  accurately  describe  the items  printed  in  the medicine prescription or patient’s medical book; Patient’s permanent address or temporary address must include: House number, street, residential group, town/ward, district/rural district, province/city.

In  principle,  medicine  prescription  is  made  only  after  having  the  result  of medical examination and disease diagnosis, and must be in accordance with the  diagnosis  and  the  degree  of  the  disease;  The  quantity  of  medicines prescribed must be in accordance with instructions for diagnosis and treatment or sufficient for use but not exceed 30 days, except for emergency cases, etc.; The contents stipulated in Clause 15, Article 6 of Law on Pharmacy, such as: functional  foods;  cosmetics;  medicines,  substances  not  being  used  for prevention or treatment of diseases; medicines that have not been authorised for marketing in Vietnam, etc.; must not be included in medicine prescriptions; Prescriptions  of  single  active  substance  or  generic  medicines  shall  be preferred.

This Circular shall take effect on 1 March 2018.

8. Spension of 50% promotion for prepaid mobile subscribers as from 1 March 2018

This is a new remarkable content of Circular No. 47/2017/TT-BTTTT of the Ministry  of  Information  and  Communications  dated  29  December  2017, providing for limits of promotion for the terrestrial wireless communications services (“Circular 47”).

Accordingly, the Ministry of Information and Communications stipulates that the  maximum  level  of  promotions  offered  by  telecommunications  services providers shall not exceed 20% for pre-paid mobile subscribers and 50% for post-paid mobile subscribers.

Besides,   Circular   No.   47   specifies   some   circumstances   in   which   the above-mentioned promotion limit shall not be applied, for instance:

(a)       Providing   samples   of   mobile   communication   services,   offering specialized    telecommunications    goods    of    exemplary    mobile communication services to customers for trial without payment.

(b)      Organizing  regular  customer  programs  of  mobile  communication services.

Also according to this Circular, regular customers of mobile communication services  comprise:  Post-paid  mobile  subscribers  including  pre-paid  mobile subscribers switching to post-paid subscription during the implementation of the  regular  customer  program;  Pre-paid  mobile  subscribers  having  used  the services for at least 1 year with the total charges paid from the subscription date of VND1 million or more.

Telecommunications  services  providers  offering  discount  promotion  to  the above-mentioned regular customers at the same time must still comply with regulations on discount promotion programs.

Circular 47 shall take effect on 1 March 2018

9. Casino enterprise must manage all transactions by software

On   29   December   2017,   the   Ministry   of   Finance   issued   Circular No.146/2017/TT-BCT,  providing  guidelines  for  the  management  of  and supervision over tax  collection for the activities of casino business, which shall take effect on 12 February 2018.

This  Circular  emphasizes  that  a  casino  enterprise  must  supervise  every transaction  related  to  money  and  its  conventional  currency  by  computer software  and  ensure  that  data  from  the  software  must  be  forwarded  to  the consolidated revenue summary sheet; simultaneously, these transactions must be recorded and reported to the relevant State management authorities.

Casino enterprise must create the consolidated revenue summary sheet using computer  software  and  monthly  forward  its  data  and  information  to  tax agencies at the same time of submitting special sales tax declaration dossier.

Casino enterprise is only allowed to change its conventional currency for the players  before  they  gamble  at  the  cashier  or  gaming  tables  and  return  the money to the players at the cashier. Simultaneously, it is required to arrange specialized boxes (bags) for storing cash and the conventional currency; such boxes (bags) must be sealed before being taken out from treasury vault and immediately  after  being  taken  away  from  gaming  machines  (tables)  for electronic games with prizes.

Tax management by the casino enterprise shall be implemented in the form of direct  management  at  business  place  or  monitored  via  electronic  equipment and CCTV system.

10. Cash withdrawal abroad     must     not     exceed     VND30 million/card/day

On  29  December  2017,  the  State  Bank  of  Vietnam  issued  Circular No.26/2017/TT-NHNN (“Circular 26”), on the amendments to some articles of  Circular  No.  19/2016/TT-NHNN  dated  30  June  2016,  regulating  bank card operations.

Accordingly,  as  from  3  March  2018  onwards,  when  withdrawing  foreign currency in cash in foreign countries, a bank card holder can only withdraw the maximum amount in foreign currency equal to VND30 million within a day (such a limit is not prescribed in the current regulations).

Besides, this Circular simultaneously adds the following provisions on credit card limit for individuals as specified in Clause 1, Article 126 of Law on Credit Institutions 2010, as amended in 2017:

  • In case of issuance of a credit card with collateral asset(s), the credit limit granted to the card holder shall be determined by the card issuer in accordance with its internal regulations on providing credits via credit cards; however, shall not exceed VND1 billion.
  • In  case  of  issuance  of  a  credit  card  without  collateral  asset(s),  the maximum  credit  limit  granted  to  the  card  holder  shall  be  VND500 million.

Circular 26 also states that:

  • Persons who are from 15 to under 18 years old and have neither lost their capacity for civil acts nor had their capacity for civil acts restricted are allowed to use debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid cards without requiring his/her own assets as collaterals as prescribed in the current regulations.
  • Persons who are from 6 to under 15 years old and have neither lost their capacity for  civil  acts  nor  had  their  capacity  for  civil  acts  restricted shall be allowed to use supplementary cards in the form of debit cards, if authorised in writing by his/her legal representative.

(Currently,  these  subjects  can  only  use  supplementary  cards  in  the  form  of debit cards without overdraft facility).

In  the  case  where  the  subjects  permitted  to  use  cards  are  foreigners,  their resident duration in Vietnam must be at least 12 months.

This Circular shall take effect on 3 March 2018.

11. Prohibited acts when the credit institutions dissolve, liquidate the assets

On     29     December     2017,     the     State     bank     issued     Circular No.24/2017/TT-NHNN   on   the   order   of   and   procedures   for   license revocation and   liquidation of assets of the credit institutions and foreign bank’s branches.

Accordingly,  credit  institution  or  foreign  bank’s  branch  is  prohibited  to perform the following acts as from the date in which the competent authorities approve  its  dissolution  or  the  Governor  of  the  State  Bank  issues  a  written request for liquidation of its assets:

  • Hiding or dispersing assets.
  • Waiving or reducing the right to claim debts.
  • Transforming unsecured debts into secured debts by assets of the credit institution or foreign bank’s branch.
  • Pledging, mortgaging, donating and leasing properties.
  • Signing new  agreements  and  contracts,  except  for  agreements  and contracts to terminate its operation.
  • Transferring money or assets abroad.

This Circular shall take effect on 26 February 2018.

12. Electronic invoices (e-Invoices)

The Ministry of Finance is drafting a Decree on invoices for goods sales and purchases     and     service     provisions     in     substitution     of     Decree  No.51/2010/ND-CP     dated     14     May     2010,     amended     by     Decree No.04/2014/ND-CP dated 17 January 2014 (“Decree 51”).

Accordingly, there are some important regulations as follows:

Every  sale  value  under  VND200,000  is  also  required  to  issue  an invoice

This  is  the  difference  between  e-invoices  and  paper  invoices;  in particular:  When  selling  goods  or  providing  services  with  a  total payment  of  under  VND200,000  each  time,  paper  invoices  are  not required unless otherwise requested by the buyers or except for using e-invoices.

Many entities are required to use e-invoices; for example:

  • Enterprises and    business    organizations    having    applied e-invoices in accordance with Decree 51.
  • Enterprises having  applied  e-invoices  with  verification  codes provided  by  tax  authorities  following  the  instructions  of  the Ministry of Finance.
  • Organizations that are not enterprises, but have activities of sale and purchase  goods  and/or  provision  of  services  requiring invoices to give to customers, etc

 

13. Other sectors

Finance – Banking

  • Decision  No.  117/QD-TTg  dated  22  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister,  on preferential  loan  interest  rates  of  credit  institutions  designated  by  the  State  in accordance with Decree No. 100/2015/ND-CP, on development and management
  • of social housing.
  • Circular No. 01/2018/TT-NHNN dated 26 January 2018 of the Governor of the State  Bank  of  Vietnam,  providing  for  special  loans  with  respect  to  credit institutions under special control.
  • Circular No. 02/2018/TT-BTC dated 2 January 2018 of the Minister of Finance, providing guidelines for the mechanism of financial support to the national defense – economic zones.
  • Circular No. 27/2017/TT-NHNN dated 31 December 2017 of the Governor of the State  Bank  of  Vietnam,  on  amendments  to  Circular  No.  03/2013/TT-NHNN, providing for credit information activities of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Trade 

  • Decree  No.  12/2018/ND-CP  dated  23  January  2018  on  amendments  to  Decree No.01/2015/ND-CP,    detailing    the    scope    of    customs    operation    areas; responsibilities to coordinate in the prevention of and fighting against smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.
  • Decree  No.  14/2018/ND-CP  dated  23  January  2018,  detailing  border  trade activities.
  • Decision  No.  235/QD-TCHQ  dated  29  January  2018,  on  Regulations   on
  • treatments after inspection and examination in the Customs branch issued by the General Department of Customs.
  • Decision No. 01/2018/QD-Ttg dated 16 January 2018 of the Prime Minister, on abolishment of Decision No. 72/2013/QD-TTg dated 26 November 2013 of the Prime  Minister,  providing  for  financial  mechanisms  and  policies  applicable  to border-gate economic zones.
  • Decision  No.  55/QD-TTg  dated  11  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister,  on approval   of   Implementation   plan   of   the   Agreement   on   Cooperation   and Administrative  Mutual  Assistance  between  the  Government  of  the  Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Republic of Italy.
  • Circular No. 08/2018/TT-BTC dated 25 January 2018 of the Ministry of Finance, providing   for   the   collection   rates   and   regime   for   collection,   submission, management and use of charges in chemical activities.
  • Consolidated  Document  No.  02/VBHN-BCT  dated  17  January  2018  of  the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on consolidation of Circulars providing guidelines for Decree No. 109/2010/ND-CP, on rice export business.
  • Consolidated Document No. 01/VBHN-BCT dated 11 January 2018 of Ministry of Industry and Trade, on consolidation of Circulars detailing a number of articles of Decree No. 83/2014/ND-CP dated 3 September 2014, on petroleum business.

 Labour 

  • Notice  No.  86/TB-BHXH  dated  10  January  2018  of  the  Social  Insurance  of Vietnam,  on  the  delayed  payment  interest  rate  applicable  to  social  insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance.
  • Notice No. 13/TB-BHXH dated 4 January 2018 of the Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance,  on  adjustment  of  interest  rates  for  calculation  of  delayed  payment interest rate and late collection of health insurance premiums.

 Health

 Decision  No.  718/QD-BYT  dated  29  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of  Health, approving the National Nutrition Action Plan until 2020.

  • Decision  No.  01/2018/QD-UBND  dated  16  January  2018  of  the  People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, promulgating the Regulation on organization and operation of the Health Department.
  • Circular No. 01/2018/TT-BYT dated 18 January 2018 of the Minister of Health, providing   for   labeling   of   medicines,   drug   materials   and   drug   package inserts/leaflets.
  • Circular No. 52/2017/TT-BYT dated 29 December 2017 of the Ministry of Health, providing  for  prescription  of  pharmaceutical-chemical  medicines  and  biological products for outpatient treatment

Transport

  • Decision No. 49/QD-BGTVT dated 9 January 2018 of the Ministry of Transport, announcing abolished administrative procedures in the  maritime field under the management of the Ministry of Transport.
  • Decision No. 48/QD-BGTVT dated 9 January 2018 of the Ministry of Transport, announcing abolished administrative procedures in the  maritime field under the management of the Ministry of Transport.
  • Decision No. 39/QD-BGTVT dated 8 January 2018 of the Ministry of Transport, providing for the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration.
  • Circular  No.  04/2018/TT-BGTVT  dated  23  January  2018  of  the  Minister  of Transport, providing for the technical assurance of aviation fuels.
  • Circular  No.  02/2018/TT-BGTVT  dated  9  January  2018  of  the  Minister  of Transport,      providing      for      the      partial      invalidation      of      Circular No.45/2017/TT-BGTVT  amending  Circular  No.  01/2016/TT-BGTVT,  on  the Program on aviation security and aviation security quality control in Vietnam.

Construction – Land  

  • Decision No. 84/QD-TTg dated 19 January 2018 by the Prime Minister, approving the Plan of development of Vietnam’s green growth urban areas until 2030.
  • Decision  No.  02/2018/QD-TTg  dated  17  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, providing  for  the  functions,  tasks,  powers  and  organizational  structure  of  the
  • General Department of Land Management directly under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
  • Decision  No.  68/QD-TTg  dated  15  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister,  on approval  of  the  Adjustment  in  the  construction  planning  for  the  Mekong  Delta until 2030, with an orientation to 2050.
  • Decision No. 20/QD-BXD dated 15 January 2018 of the Ministry of Construction, announcing  the  list  of  legal  documents,  which  wholly  or  partially  cease  to  be effective, in the fields under State management of the Ministry of Construction in 2017.
  • Circular  No.  01/2018/TT-BXD  dated  5  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of Construction, providing for criteria for construction of green growth urban areas.

Natural Resources – Environment

  • Decision  No.  140/QD-TTg  dated  26  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, approving the Scheme on building a database on waste sources.
  • Decision No. 487/QD-UBND dated 25 January 2018 of the People’s Committee ofHanoi,  approving  the  list  of  areas  to  be  registered  for  underground  water exploitation.
  • Decision  No.  06/2018/QD-TTg  dated  23  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, providing for the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Vietnam Administration of Sea and Islands under the Ministry of Environment and Natural

 Resources

  • Decision  No.  04/2018/QD-TTg  dated  23  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, providing  for  the  method  for  determination  of  costs  of  evaluation  of  mineral prospecting,  reimbursable  costs  of  mineral  exploration,  reimbursement  method, regulations  on  the  regime  for  collection,  management  and  use  of  expenses  for evaluation of mineral prospecting and mineral exploration funded by the State.
  • Decision  No.  03/2018/QD-TTg  dated  23  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, providing  for  the  functions,  tasks,  powers  and  organizational  structure  of  the General Department of Meteorology and Hydrology directly under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
  • Decision No. 94/QD-BCT dated 10 January 2018 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, announcing new administrative procedures in the petroleum field under the authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
  • Consolidated  Document  No.  05/VBHN-BCT  dated  23  January  2018  of  the Minister of Industry and Trade, on the consolidation of Circulars on coal export.
  • Consolidated  Document  No.  04/VBHN-BCT  dated  23  January  2018  by  the Minister  of  Industry  and  Trade,  on the  consolidation  of  Circulars  providing for coal business conditions.
  • Document No. 03/VBHN-BCT dated 17 January 2018 of the Minister of Industry and Trade, on the consolidation of Circulars on the export of minerals issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade.

Science – Technology

  • Decree  No.  04/2018/ND-CP  dated  4  January  2018,  providing  preferential mechanisms and policies for Da Nang Hi-Tech Park.
  • Decision No. 496/QD-UBND dated 26 January 2018 of the People’s Committee of Hanoi, on approval of the Scheme on development of key industrial products of Hanoi for the period 2020-2025.

Information – Communications

  • Decree  No.  13/2018/ND-CP  dated  23  January  2018,  detailing  and  providing guidelines for the implementation of Law on Access to Information.
  • Decision  No.  126/QD-BTTTT  dated  31  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of Information  and  Communications,  on  the  list  of  legal  documents  in  the  fields under the State management of the Ministry of Information and Communications, which cease to be effective in whole or in part in 2017.
  • Decision  No.  153/QD-TTg  dated  30  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, approving   the   Target   program   on   information   technology   for   the   period 2016-2020.
  • Decision  No.  03/2018/QD-UBND  dated  24  January  2018  of  the  People’s Committee  of  Ho  Chi  Minh  City  dated  24  January  2018,  on  the  Regulation  on ensuring information safety and security in the field of technology information in activities of State agencies in Ho Chi Minh City.
  • Circular No. 03/2018/TT-BTC dated 12 January 2018 of the Minister of Finance, amending     and     supplementing     a     number     of     articles     of     Circular No.273/2016/TT-BTC, providing for rates of collection and exemption from the collection,  and  the  regime  for  collection,  remittance,  management  and  use  of charges  for  the  right  to  telecommunications  activities  and  fees  for  the  grant  of telecommunication business service licenses and telecommunication professional licenses.

Administration – Judiciary

  •  Decision  No.  37/QD-VKSTC  dated  25  January  2018  of  the  Chairman  of  the Supreme People’s Procuracy, issuing the Regulation on management of external activities in the People’s Procuracy branch.
  • Decision  No.  126/QD-TTg  dated  25  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, promulgating the Plan to implement the unified systemization of legal documents throughout the country for the period 2014-2018.
  • Decision  No.  132/QD-BTP  dated  18  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of  Justice, announcing the List of legal documents, which expire or cease to be effective in whole or in part, in the fields under State management of the Ministry of Justice in 2017.
  • Decision  No.  65/QD-TTg  dated  12  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister,  on approval  of  the  Scheme  on  propagating  and  disseminating  the  contents  of  the
  • Convention  against  torture  and  Vietnamese  laws  on  prevention  and  combat  of torture to cadres, public officials and servants, and the public.
  • Decision  No.  64/QD-TTg  dated  12  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister,  on promulgation  of  the  Plan  of  exercising  the  rights  and  obligations  of  the International Development Law Organization’s member (IDLO).
  • Decision  No.  49/QD-TTg  dated  11  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister,  on approval of the Preparation plan for assession to La Hay Convention 1980 on civil aspects of the international kidnapping during the period of 2018-2021.
  • Decision  No.  15/QD-VKSTC  dated  9  January  2018  of  the  Supreme  People’s Procuracy,  on  the  standard  forms  of  proceedings  documents,  professional documents in the exercise of the right to prosecution and supervision over criminal proceedings commencement, investigation and prosecution issued by the Supreme People’s Procuracy.
  • Decision  No.  40/QD-BTP  dated  8  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of  Justice, announcing  replaced  or  abolished  administrative  procedures  in  the  field  of  law dissemination and education under the scope of State management functions of the Ministry of Justice.
  • Decision No. 50/2017/QD-TTg dated 31 December 2017 of the Prime Minister, providing for standards and norms for the use of machinery and equipment.

Agriculture – Forestry – Fishery

  • Decision  No.  79/QD-TTg  dated  18  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister,  on promulgation  of  the  National  Action  Plan  for  development  of  the  Vietnam’s shrimp industry until 2025.
  • Decision No. 78/QD-TTg dated 16 January 2018, approving the National Action Plan to prevent, reduce and eliminate illegal, unreported and unlawful fishing until 2025.
  • Circular  No.  01/2018/TT-BNNPTNT  dated  16  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of Agriculture  and  Rural  Development,  on  promulgation  of  the  List  of  livestock breeds that can be produced and traded in Vietnam.

Miscellaneous

  • Decree  No.  162/2017/ND-CP  dated  1  January  2018  of  the  Prime  Minister, detailing some articles and measures for implementation of the Law on Religion and folk belief.
  • Decision  No.  322/QD-BGDDT  dated  30  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of  Education and Training, issuing the lists of legal documents on the fields under the State management of Ministry of Education and Training, which expired in 2017.
  • Decision No. 63/QD-TTg dated 12 January 2018 of the Prime Minister, approving the Scheme on Public investment restructure during the period of 2017-2020 with an orientation to 2025.
  • Decision  No.  26/QD-BTC  dated  8  January  2018  of  the  Ministry  of  Finance, promulgating new administrative procedures in the field of tax within the scope of State management functions of the Ministry of Finance.